In short, with the filibuster — a dubious tradition that encourages senators to act as spoilers rather than legislators, and that has locked the political system into semipermanent paralysis by ensuring that important decisions are endlessly deferred.

In some cases they put them in a “state of semipermanent civil war”; the conflict in Vietnam, for example, lasted thirty years and resulted in huge human losses, devastation of the land, and aborted economic development.10 The negative effects still linger in many areas.

In 2008, however, the Tour ditched Westchester as its permanent home in New York and is now essentially auditioning clubs prior to establishing a semipermanent rotation of host courses for the first FedEx Cup Playoff event every year.